Vine is a short-form video sharing service where users can share six-second-long looping video clips. The service was founded in June 2012, and microblogging website Twitter acquired it in October 2012, just before its official launch. Users' videos are published through Vine's social network and can be shared on other services such as Facebook and Twitter. Vine's app can also be used to browse through videos posted by other users, along with groups of videos by theme, and trending, or popular, videos.

Contents

Vine was founded by Dom Hofmann, Rus Yusupov, and Colin Kroll in June 2012. The company was acquired by Twitter in October 2012 for a reported $30 million.[2][3]

Vine officially launched on January 24, 2013[4][5] as a free app for iOS devices. On June 2, 2013, an Android version was released.[6] On 12 November 2013 the application was released for Windows Phone.[7]

In a couple of months, Vine became the most used video sharing application in the market, even with low adoption of the app.[8] On April 9, 2013, Vine became the most-downloaded free app within the iOS App Store[9] and on May 1, 2014, Vine launched the web version of the service to explore videos.[10]

On October 14, 2014, an Xbox One version was released allowing Xbox Live members to watch the looping videos.[11]

In January, 2015, Vine launched Vine Kids, an app designed specifically for children.[12] In addition to offering age-appropriate video loops for children, the app includes interactive features allowing users to swipe for new videos and to hear different sounds. The app is only available to Apple iOS users.

Vine enables users to record short video clips up to around six seconds long[4][5][13][14] while recording through its in-app camera. The camera records only while the screen is being touched, enabling users to edit on the fly or create stop motion effects.[15]

Additional features were added to the app in July 2013; these include grid and ghost image tools for the camera, curated channels (including themed areas and trending topics/users), the ability to "revine" videos on a personal stream, and protected posts.[16]

In July 2014, Vine updated their app with a new "loop count" meaning every time someone watches a vine, a number on top of the video will appear showing how many times it was viewed. The "loop count" also includes views from vines that are embedded onto other websites.[17][18]

Vine has attracted different types of uses, including short-form comedy and music performances,[19] and stop motion animation.[20] The service has also been used for journalism: on February 1, 2013, a Turkish journalist used it to document the aftermath of the 2013 United States embassy bombing in Ankara.[21] Vine has also gained ground as a promotional tool; in 2013, the track listing of Daft Punk's album Random Access Memories was revealed via a Vine video,[22] and on September 9, 2013, Dunkin Donuts became the first company to use a single Vine as an entire television advertisement.[23]

In March 2013, 22 Vines were presented in an exhibit entitled #SVAES (The Shortest Video Art Ever Sold) at the Moving Imageart fair in New York City. Copies of the videos were available to purchase on thumb drives for US$200 each. Angela Washko's "Tits on Tits on Ikea" was sold to Dutch art advisor, curator and collector Myriam Vanneschi during the event, marking the first ever sale of a Vine as art.[27]

Ryan McHenry made a series of Vines titled Ryan Gosling Won't Eat His Cereal from 2013-2015. The Vines attracted the attention of Gosling himself, and when McHenry died on May 2, 2015, Gosling paid tribute to him by posting a Vine of him eating cereal, effectively ending the series.

The immense popularity of this application among 14-20 year olds has given rise to notable influencers within Vine. Contributing to the phenomenon of influencer marketing, Vine has seen an influx of brand penetration and marketing efforts. Many companies have begun to use this platform as an advertising channel, by having popular users endorse products.

A BBC review described collections of Vine videos to be "mesmerizing", like "[watching a] bewildering carousel of six-second slices of ordinary life [roll] past."[20]

Soon after its launch, Vine faced criticism for how it handled pornography; while porn is not forbidden by Twitter's guidelines,[29] one sexually explicit clip was accidentally featured as an "Editor's Pick" in the Vine app as a result of "human error".[30] Because pornographic content violates Apple's terms of service,[31] the app's rating was changed to 17+ in February 2013 following a request by Apple.[32]